US to Resume Mexican Livestock Imports in Phases Following Halt
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The U.S. will start reopening ports to Mexican livestock in phases, after trade along the southern border had been halted in May by the spread of a parasitic fly.
The port in Douglas, Ariz., will be the first to reopen as soon as July 7, after live imports of cattle, horses and bison were suspended as the flesh-eating New World screwworm threatened animals, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said June 30. Additional ports in New Mexico and Texas are scheduled to follow suit until mid-September, with the agency evaluating potential risks and impacts after each reopening.
The screwworm, which eats its host from the inside out and is capable of killing a full-grown steer in just 10 days, prompted the U.S. to halt imports of cattle from Mexico, aggravating a domestic shortage that has sent prices of slaughter-weight livestock to a record this year.
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The U.S. has not seen a “notable increase” in screwworm cases or any northward spread of the fly over the past eight weeks, the agency said. Since the closure of ports in May, the USDA has spread more than 100 million sterile flies each week to prevent the bug’s spread and has sent employees to observe and weigh in on Mexico’s response to the outbreak.
Earlier this month, the USDA announced plans to open an $8.5 million facility in South Texas to produce as much as 300 million sterile flies per week. The bugs mate with wild flies to lay unfertilized eggs, effectively limiting population growth. Mexico will also complete a renovation of its sterile fruit fly facility by July next year, allowing for the production of 60 million to 100 million bugs per week.
Only cattle and bison raised in the Mexican states of Sonora or Chihuahua, or treated in those Mexican states according to agency protocols, will be eligible for import, the USDA said. The reopening of two Texas ports will depend on the Coahuila and Nuevo Leon regions also adopting the same protocols, according to the agency. Horses can be imported from anywhere in Mexico, but must follow protocols and a seven-day quarantine.
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